By Rabbi Alicia Magal Sedona, AZ — The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, located at 100 Meadowlark Drive off Route 179 in Sedona, is a welcoming, egalitarian, inclusive congregation dedicated to building a link from the past to the future by providing religious, educational, social and cultural experiences. The JCSVV offers soul-enriching services, programs, and classes, all listed on the synagogue website, jcsvv.org. Office telephone: 928 204-1286. Visitors are welcome to attend services after a security check. Those who cannot attend in person can access the service through zoom. Note later First Friday start time: Friday evening services on July…
Author: Tommy
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By Joseph Rittenhouse — Sedona, AZ –In a recent survey by the Red Rock News, almost 70 percent of the respondents voted against the intrusive use of license plate reading cameras in Sedona. There were two editorials written in Sedona.biz—one for and one against—the installation of these cameras that can not only read the plates but also identify the identity and address of the driver, as well as determine if the vehicle is stolen, if there is a warrant out on the driver, if it is properly registered and insured, and even how many scratches or dents the vehicle has.…
Robin Willliams and Nathan Lane star award-winning comedy at the Fisher Theatre Sedona, AZ — Get all dolled-up for a night at South Beach here in Sedona as the Sedona International Film Festival partners with Unify Sedona to present “The Birdcage” on Saturday, June 28 at 4 and 7 p.m. at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre. The event is the finale to our annual celebration of Pride Month. Enjoy the Academy Award-nominated big screen smash — starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. Costumes are encouraged, so … come dressed in your favorite “Birdcage” South Beach attire and join the party!…
By David Stephen If you want to know what failure looks like in neuroscience and consciousness research, you have to pay attention to what AI has been doing to the minds of several users. Many are falling in love with AI. AI is resulting in disconnection from reality for others. AI — in some interactive nudges — inched some to fatal ends. AI is showing an unprecedented ability to control minds, beyond anything invented in history [including money, for a capitalistic society]. So, what is the response of the neuroscience and consciousness fields? Zilch. The biggest research, in neuroscience, at present is…
By Bear Howard If ICE raids continue the way they began — indiscriminate, militarized, and devoid of compassion — this could become the new American story: families hiding in attic crawlspaces, children too afraid to go to school, neighbors quietly defying the state to protect the people they love. In the red rock canyons of Sedona—better known for energy vortexes, yoga retreats, and upscale resorts—the contradiction would become almost unbearable. Behind the serenity marketed to tourists, a different reality could take hold. People who make the tourism economy possible—the hotel workers, restaurant staff, housekeepers, caregivers—might begin to vanish. Not because…
Sedona, AZ — My husband Richard and I have lived at the intersection of two planned SUPs (Gun Fury and Mtn Shadows) since 2006 and are frequent e-bike cyclists and walkers with some actionable feedback to improve the planning of these and other bicycle and pedestrian-friendly projects. First, this may come as a surprise, but when we cycle down Sanborn we often use the road instead of the SUP despite all the money and work put into it. Here’s why: It’s not just cars that can conflict with cyclists. It is both common sense and also has been found in transportation studies (according…
Best Documentary Award winner from festival returns for special theatrical release Sedona, AZ — The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the theatrical release of “Between the Mountain and the Sky” showing June 27-July 3 at the Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatre. “Between the Mountain and the Sky” won the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature Film at the recent Sedona International Film Festival. The film also won Best Documentary honors at Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, the Dublin Independent Film Festival and Jakarta Independent Film Festival, the Naples Film Festival and Port Townsend Film Fe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIaRuiLEABI “Between the Mountain…
SEDONA, Ariz. — The city of Sedona celebrated a major milestone on June 11, 2025 with the groundbreaking of Villas on Shelby, a new deed-restricted affordable housing complex that will provide 30 rental apartments to those earning an average of 60% of the area medium income (AMI), meaning rent for a 1-bedroom unit will be approximately $862 per month and rent for a 3-bedroom unit will be approximately $1,188 per month. The complex is expected to be completed in mid-2026. City officials, housing partners and community members gathered on the construction site, located at 2250 Shelby Dr., to celebrate the…
SEDONA, Ariz. – The city encourages residents and visitors to take advantage of continued evening hours of the Sedona Shuttle Connect on-demand service, which will be offered until September 1, 2025.The on-demand transit service will run Thursday through Sunday, from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. The Sedona Shuttle Connect picks you up and drops you at the curb in cool, comfortable vehicles. That means that this summer, residents and visitors can leave their cars parked at home or the hotel and hop into an air-conditioned van for a quick ride to dinner, happy hour, shopping or gallery row. The Sedona…
By Bear Howard Sedona, AZ — I’ve been on vacation, spending time enjoying the great outdoors, but this article that appeared in the Red Rock News, our local Sedona pulp newspaper, got my attention. With a little research, I have put together this rebuttal. Read it and then read the article in question and see which “reality” you prefer. Reframing the Narrative: When Sensationalism Undermines Public Safety The article in question presents Sedona’s modest deployment of 12 automated license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras as a sweeping act of Orwellian overreach. But beneath the provocative headlines and selective quotes lies a…
By Tommy Acosta Well, well, well, it looks like Trump may have pulled off the coup of the century, forcing Iran to the bargaining table and calling for a ceasefire while the players work it out. I guess I was right once again predicting Iran would crumble and capitulate in the face of America’s annihilating force. The Ayatollah and his minions knew their days of existing as a human being were soon to be cut short if they did not gracefully give up. So mission accomplished for those who would not allow Iran access to nuclear weapons.And who knows, maybe…
By Tommy Acosta Sedona, AZ – It was belief that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction that led us into war with Iraq. It’s suspicion that Iran seeks to build a nuclear warhead that has led us into war with them. As it turned out, Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction. Will it be the same with Iran? It really makes no difference. The die is cast. The trigger has been pulled. The bombs have been dropped. Devastation looms over Iran, and they had best capitulate rather than escalate and dance to the drummer’s Trumpian beat. If Iran is…
By Tommy Acosta Sedona, AZ –Were it not for the excellent reporting by Red Rock News Managing Editor Christopher Fox and RRN reporter Tim Perry, I might have never known about the City’s plan to place automated license plate reading surveillance cameras throughout Sedona. According to RRN, the decision to install a total of 12 of these cameras—which not only read license plates but provide a plethora of information about drivers, their names, where they live, etc.—was made by city staff with no public input or council approval. One would think that such a decision would require the public and…
By Amaya Gayle Sedona, AZ — It takes a lifetime (perhaps lifetimes) of stretching and expanding, ripping and tearing, just to move through one’s predispositions, to meet one’s inbred resistance and evolve to the grace of simple tolerance. During this precious part of the journey, it feels like you are taking the steps, are choosing right, left or straight ahead, that you are in the game. It is a true gift to live through such change. Many will not take the step, will remain stuck in victimhood and resistance for their entire lives. Once the step is taken that is…
The powerful true story about journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s brave crusade Sedona, AZ — The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of “Words of War” showing June 27-July 3 at the Mary D. Fisher and Alice Gill-Sheldon Theatres. From executive producer Sean Penn comes the powerful true story of journalist Anna Politkovskaya. In a world silenced by fear, her truth was unstoppable. Journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s brave crusade — fighting to be an independent voice of truth for the Russian people — puts her life in jeopardy. She refused to give up reporting on the war…